The Federal Salary Council voted Friday to add 13 cities to a list of municipalities where federal employees are paid more, in an effort to close a growing wage gap between feds and private-sector counterparts in certain regions of the country. 12 of the 13 recommendations had been approved previously but have gone unimplemented by the President's Pay Agent, frustrating federal employees and the unions representing feds in those areas.

Arlington County officials have transported an ill woman found Friday in a Pentagon parking lot to a local Virginia hospital. According to a DoD spokesperson, the woman told first responders she had recently traveled to Africa.

In an agency rocked by scandal and mismanagement, employees at the Veterans Affairs Department are becoming less pleased with their senior leaders. According to data from the Office of Personnel Management's 2014 Employee Viewpoint Survey, only 37 percent of employees surveyed said they are satisfied with their senior leaders' policies and practices. The number is down from 40 percent in the 2013 survey.

The Partnership for Public Service released a report Thursday revealing the findings of two surveys of 2011 participants in the Presidential Management Fellows program. While the program is succeeding in bringing more outstanding individuals into federal service, there are areas that need improvement.

The program billed as the world's largest provider of assistive technologies celebrates its 25th anniversary this week. The Computer-Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) has made technology like speech recognition software or pens that double as recording devices mainstays in offices devoted to helping people with disabilities. CAP Director Stephen King joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to give a progress report on how the program has helped thousands of wounded service members and disabled federal employees so far.

From Google searches to LinkedIn connections, a wealth of publicly available online information can reveal a person's mindset, and possibly tip off the government to the next Edward Snowden or Aaron Alexis. The intelligence community has done some testing, but a final policy remains elusive. Contractors are hesitant.

The Treasury Acquisition Institute has experienced a nearly 20 percent increase in the number of federal employees it trains each year. The appetite for training is going to keep growing, forcing TAI to rethink how it delivers workforce education. As part of our special report, The Missing Pieces of Procurement Reform, today we'll focus on taking stock for the future. Institute Director Kelvin Wood tells Executive Editor Jason Miller how TAI is changing with the times.

Most feds had Monday off thanks to Columbus Day, but some cities celebrate the day as Indigenous People's Day. One IRS worker tells Senior Correspondent Mike Causey the federal government may want to reconsider honoring the Italian explorer.

Jessica Klement, legislative director for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees association, joins host Mike Causey for a look at how members of Congress voted on legislation that matters to feds.
October 15, 2014

For now, push-ups and math scores are the main methods the Army uses to screen potential recruits. But officials say they are studying measures that take a "whole person" approach identifying future soldiers.

Talent acquisition manager Mike Bruni will discuss job trends in the federal government, the kinds of workers that agencies need, and how to land a job in what is a competitive and challenging federal market.
October 10, 2014